The Ouachita telegraph. [volume] (Monroe, La.) 1865-1889, 1887-09-24

% Ia this Instance, the lines being the
same, the order of precedence would
be di1icult to Determine. Thus we
had been travelling over tho same
ground Ia conversation that two men,
bers Of our little party, which shall
designate as the vestry, to distinguish
Il from other similar parties, and be-
cause also Il Is not a veslry, had gone
over a. soldiers more than two decades
ago. To locate the famous shoals and
their length and the canal now build
ing to avoid them, personal recollect-
Ions OF the war period were appealed
to. The switch, any old soldier will
understand, VAS now wide open to the
post, aud We swarmed across the Ten
nessee at the foot of the shoals, as we
had done under Hood, In November,
1854, and set forward again In the face
of binding snow, and rain, and sIeet
along almost impossible highways, on
the disastrous march into Tennessee
aud conjectuaily on to the Ohio.
We talked hurriediy enough over
the ground we had toiled over AS pain
fully before, and very soon reached
Duck river aud halted before Columbia,
where Gen. Thomas With q large force
wac enlrenched to dlspute our passage.
Gen. Forrest was again ordered to seek
0 crossing above and east of Colum bia.
Ny old comrade Ia arms was q soldier
10 Forrest's cavalry, or mounted in~
fautry, to speak more In accordance
with that intrepid leaders, manner of
fighting, whose war theories were all
embraced In the terse phrase "To git
thar fust, and with the most men )"
and my frlend's company was selected
to lead the advance and force the cross
Ing.
MDid you ever serve in the Yankee
army 2" inquired my friend, having
reached the point OF crossing the river.
Although I he'd spent few days In the
Nashville peaitentlary, few moro In
the old Medical College prison at
Loutsvtlte, two weeks at Camp Chase
and some months on Johnson's Island,
I had not served In the Federal army,
and 90 replied.
"Well, / did, for about ten minutes"
said the old trooper, "and I'll tell you
how 1t was, II you would like to hear
it,
Copious reading aud not infrequent
iutsrchauges OF war "reminiscences had
failed to acquaint me with anything so
unique and apparently 80 preposterous,
and ell the vestry voted urgency and
approval.
SWELL" began the narrator, "when
our company reached the crossing we
had discovered, we found the river
swollen, aud Federal force, with ar
ttltery, on the opposite bank. 1t was
q common country crossing, the road
leading to tho opposite bank in the same
manner. A few we'll directed shots
from . section OF artillery We had
brought along, soon distodged the Fed
erals, aud we plunged In TO swim as
we were, thoroughly soaked with rain,
and eacrustetl with sleet. Weascended
the opposite bank, reformed and set
forward on the settlement road. Pref.
ty soon we found the enemy, about a
company strong, barricaded In q GIN
house. This we charged, capturing all
the bluecoats 1t sheltered.
"While engaged In mastering the
prlsiOners and arranging an escort
10 carry them TO the rear, courier,
bearing Federal flag, came riding at
furious speed towards US, his horse
leaping the gtnhouse fence, and halt
Ing before our lieutenant, he gave the
order, Fall In, men, The response
from our lieutenant in command was,
'You fall Off that horse,' which the
rider readily did. He turned out to be
the color sergeant of the regiment who
had volunteered 10 bear the order of
bis Colonel to his advance guard, and
not, as It turned out, to us.
ascending our prisoners under
small escort-we had only twenty
eight men, all told-to the rear, we
again started forward, intending 10
strike the turnpike near Spring Hill.
We were now in Gen. Thomas rear.
It was not long before we came In full
view of the enemy's camp fires. Our
ptckets, pushing forward continuously,
discovered that the fires were burning
brightly but had been abandoned, aud
presumably 10 great haste. II was far
Into the afternoon when we crossed the
rlver, aud Il was now deep dark. The
rattle of our sabres, the sounds of the
h0sSea' hoofs and q low murmer of con-
vefsstion alone disturbed the stiffness
OF the night. We drew up about the
llrse, halted and formed into line.
III took advantage OF the halt to
disengage my feet from the stirrups,
placed them behind on the rump of
tho horse aud leaned forward, my
hands resting on the pomel of the sad
die. The lieutenant had called the